Jimmy Savile's former flatmate and chauffeur has been arrested over historic abuse allegations.

Ray Teret was held by officers from Greater Manchester Police, but the force said the accusations are not linked to the national inquiry into abuse by disgraced TV presenter Savile.

Two men, aged 61 and 71, were arrested in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, by detectives investigating three separate claims of sexual abuse. Both the men were arrested on suspicion of rape.

Detective Inspector Simon Davies said: "The arrest follows an investigation by the serious sexual offences unit into three separate allegations of historic sexual abuse which have been reported to Greater Manchester Police since October 28.

"I want to make it absolutely clear that this is not an investigation into the late Jimmy Savile, nor do any of the allegations relate to any involvement by Savile. The victims who have come forward have shown tremendous courage and our primary focus is to support these victims during what is clearly a very traumatic time for them. We have a duty to investigate their complaints thoroughly."

On Wednesday, Savile's nephew Guy Marsden backed calls for the body of the Top Of The Pops presenter to be exhumed and cremated.

He said he "100%" supported families who called for Savile's body to be moved away from the graves of their loved ones in Scarborough's Woodlands Cemetery following claims that Savile abused 300 people over six decades.

Mr Marsden, from Leeds, said: "If it was one of mine who was buried there, I wouldn't like it if someone like Jimmy was in the same place."

Calls to dig up the late BBC star were made public at a Scarborough Borough Council meeting on Monday, during which the council voted to remove his name from its Freedom of the Borough honours list. Councillor Colin Haddington, for Filey, said the family of a young child buried very close to Savile's grave was particularly distressed.

But council leaders said the decision to move the disgraced presenter could only be made by Savile's family and they had no current plans to exhume the body.